Audio By Carbonatix
What is ‘aura farming‘ and who is the Indonesian boat racing kid? Those two questions might not make any sense whatsoever if you are not even vaguely familiar with the latest viral trend on TikTok.
Fortunately, I am here to explain!
Lets start at the beginning of this social media sensation. That begins with ‘aura’ and ‘aura farming.’
In a traditional sense, aura is defined as “the distinctive quality that seems to surround and be generated by a person, thing or place.” For example, the ceremony remains an aura of mystery.
That is still true at its core. However, the word ‘aura’ has become synonymous with ‘cool’ or ‘charisma’ in modern day vernacular. It is more commonly used to describe someone who is perceived as confident and suave in a positive way. For example, nobody will ever have aura like Michael Jackson.
Someone like you or me can gain ‘aura points’ if we do something awesome. For example, Steph Curry gains 1,000 aura points every time he makes a no-look three-pointer. Something like that.
And then there is ‘aura farming’ or ‘aura-maxxing.’ This phenomenon could best be described as an intentional attempt to gain ‘aura points’ through a deliberate over-exaggeration of something cool. For example:
Now that we’re all caught up on ‘aura,’ lets now turn our focus to Indonesia.
The Indonesian boat racing kid is aura farming.
Pacu Jalur is a boat racing festival held annually in Kuantan Singingi, Riau, Indonesia since the 17th century. It was initially founded as a ceremonial event to welcome royal guests. It has since become a major cultural festival to preserve the region’s maritime heritage.
The highlight of Pacu Jalur is the boat races. Long wooden boats paddled by dozens of men race down the local river. Thousands of spectators gather to watch from the banks.
On the front of the boats sit the viral boat racing kid. He typically stands on the bow to direct the rowers forward in an entertaining way. His role may not be that important when it comes to winning or losing the race itself but he could not be more important for the vibes. Take a look:
Videos of/from Pacu Jalur went extremely viral on TikTok and Reels over the last few days and weeks. They are set to modern music to highlight just how much the boat racing kid is ‘aura farming’ while dancing on the bow.
The dance has very quickly become the emote of the summer. If you know, you know. If you don’t know, now you do!
Even Travis Kelce got in on the trend.
As did Diego Luna after he scored his second goal against Guatamala at the Gold Cup. The fast-rising USMNT star hit the Pacu Jalur dance right in front of the camera.
diego luna really hit that 😂 pic.twitter.com/AC69ec8y3U
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 2, 2025
Luna self-admittedly aura farmed.
There you have it. Diego Luna and Travis Kelce both paid homage to the Indonesian boat racing kid. The aura-farming is inescapable. It is everywhere and now you know what it means!